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Uber agrees to cap prices

Associated Press

Posted:
07/08/2014 12:16:03 PM PDT

In this photo illustration, the app 'Uber' is launched in a smart phone on July 1, 2014 in Barcelona, Spain. (David Ramos/Getty Images)

ALBANY, N.Y. -- New York's attorney general says the car service Uber has agreed to limit prices during emergencies, natural disasters or other market disruptions consistent with the state's law against price gouging.

The San Francisco company's rates rise and fall with demand. It has been criticized for "surge pricing" that's sometimes exponentially higher.

Under the agreement, it will set a cap during "abnormal disruptions of the market," limited to the range charged in the preceding 60 days and excluding the three highest prices.